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The Site C juggernaut rolls on. Why? We don't need the power. Site C is being built to frack gas.
We know fracking triggers seismic events. We know Site C will increase the province’s greenhouse gas emissions to such an extent the government's commitment to GHG reduction targets becomes impossible.

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Vancouver-area seniors tend to be viewed as equity-rich fat cats with paid-off homes to finance their post-employment years. As the myth goes, these folks sell their West Side homes for millions, then relocate to stylish condos or retreats in Sechelt or Qualicum Beach while having enough left over to dole out downpayments on housing for their children.

The federal budget earlier this week blew kisses to Lower Mainland mayors, disappointed B.C. business groups and provided a political Viagra pill to the Conservatives. Everyone knows the Canadian economy is sluggish, oil prices are down and interest rates are low. So, deficit spending may well be in order. Certainly, the mayors are welcoming all the new affordable housing and infrastructure spending.

Vancouver homebuyers increasingly encounter real estate bidding wars, some of them artfully engineered by realtors who list properties at prices below their market value. We have all heard about the way this works. An open house is held at an attractively priced property. Prospective buyers are advised as to when offers will be accepted — at which point, in a hot market like Vancouver’s, competitive bidding usually takes place, with several potential buyers offering to pay more than the property’s asking price. Sometimes as much as $1 million more.

Big mortgages and high rents be damned. British Columbians are shopping their hearts out. The Business Council of B.C. highlighted the shopping spree recently, noting the total value of annual retail sales in B.C. has surpassed the $70-billion mark, reflecting a 6.8-per-cent surge last year.

A huge concern being expressed about high housing prices in the Vancouver area is that a younger generation will never be able to buy into the communities they are growing up in. But Kathleen Higgins and her architect husband John believe they have an answer to that problem.

So, how is it that I can afford to have Christian Dior and Balenciaga in my clothes closet? For those who do not know that I have long been a consignment shopper, that would be a fair question. The truth is, presumably wealthy Vancouverites are regularly recycling such clothing at shops around the city where the apparel then re-sells at down-to-earth prices. And I am only too happy to take advantage.

Metro Vancouver has a finite land base and a steady stream of newcomers chasing a limited housing supply. But there is another factor contributing to the dire housing situation: the fear factor. Observers agree that the fear of selling one’s home and not being able to find another property is part of the story behind a low inventory of real estate listings, both in Vancouver and Toronto. The situation is handicapping buyers and sending prices skyward.

Local politicians for years have tried valiantly to convince Lower Mainlanders the only real solution to unaffordable housing is densification. But if results of a new survey on preferred development are to be believed, there is a big problem with their strategy: The public is not buying it.

A weak currency and slumping global commodity prices are indirectly contributing to a rush on Lower Mainland real estate. The two forces are aggravating a pre-existing situation of too many buyers and renters chasing too few housing units.

Facing overwhelming public pressure to introduce a budget that would tackle the Lower Mainland’s housing affordability crisis, B.C.’s finance minister surprised many on Tuesday by doing very little on that front. Responding to reporters’ questions before delivering his budget, minister Mike de Jong said he was not inclined to act in a way that would depress housing prices or discourage people from moving to B.C.

Exasperated by all those $1.5-million fixer-uppers out there that, anywhere else, might sell for around $275,000? Counting on Christy Clark’s recent pledge to deliver relief? The B.C. budget, to be tabled next Tuesday, will almost certainly bring you back down to earth.

My neighbour told me last fall he had sold his Kerrisdale home with a distant closing date of January, in a “contract assignment” arrangement. He did not appear distressed, despite the fact he did not receive the additional profit that flowed from the quick flip that took place following the initial sale. Call the arrangement a shady real estate practice or insider trading, such contract assignments have been occurring for some time in Vancouver — with full knowledge of both the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and the Real Estate Council of B.C., a regulatory agency for the industry. (They also happen regularly in Toronto.)

Calgary’s uncanny ability to attract corporate head offices with all their employment benefits has long been a source of frustration, even embarrassment, for Vancouver’s business community. But perhaps not for much longer. As a new study from the Business Council of B.C. notes that two initiatives are showing early signs of paying off, attracting new business and investment to Metro Vancouver.

When Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre recently rejected an oil pipeline through his city, it sparked a firestorm in Parliament and across the West. Yet Vancouver’s Gregor Robertson regularly disses the notion of shipping bitumen through Burrard Inlet and no one bats an eyelash. What gives? That double standard was discussed earlier this week at a gathering of some 50 economists and government representatives, sponsored by the Conference Board of Canada and Vancouver’s Board of Trade.

Property in Vancouver has become a top “global asset class,” vastly outperforming stock markets, crude oil and other commodities. As a result, Vancouver residents should not expect pressure to ease, either on real estate affordability or urban densification, as housing increasingly is recognized as a smart investment. And as Metro Vancouver becomes a magnet for people from China and India.

A massive infusion of offshore cash into the Lower Mainland’s multi-family residential property market is “disrupting the local development and investor communities,” resulting in bidding wars and a surge in the value of real estate sales. A report by well-known apartment property analysts David Goodman and his son Mark also notes the region’s vacancy rates continue to drop and tenants in some parts of the region are being hit with rent hikes of more than five per cent.

Strata depreciation reports have unearthed an alarming situation for B.C. condo owners: The overwhelming majority of strata units are carrying monthly maintenance fees that are nowhere near adequate to keep up their buildings. “This is really a scary situation,” says Jeremy Bramwell, of Bramwell & Associates Realty Advisors. “We are going to have a lot of special assessments being levied (on condo unit owners) in coming years.”

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